1. Field
The following description relates to facial animation generation technology, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for generating an animation of a facial character with various facial expressions using a plurality of key models.
2. Description of the Related Art
Facial animation of virtual characters is becoming important not only in the fields of animation, movies, and games, but also in products closely related to daily lives, for example, billboards, electronic devices, information desks, and the like. For example, human-like conversation systems may be used in electronic goods that have user interactions, such as televisions, cameras, phones, and camcorders.
Producing facial animation of virtual characters is labor-intensive work that involves a lot of time and effort. Data-based facial animation is drawing a lot of attention, because in data-based facial animation, desired facial animation may be generated more efficiently by reusing existing data. In data-based facial animation, obtaining a large number of high-quality facial animation data samples is desirable.
According to another method of facial animation, a database of facial expressions and mouth shapes of people may be scanned as three-dimensional (3D) information and may be employed. The facial animation may be generated from a single image by blending the 3D information.
The above facial animation data may be obtained by capturing facial expressions of real people using motion capture or stereo imaging technology. Facial expressions using this technology generate facial animation data that is natural. However, there are many restrictions in obtaining the facial animation data. That is, expensive specialized equipment is needed to obtain the facial animation data. In addition, this equipment cannot be installed in a home or office environment. It must be installed in a special environment with special lighting and backgrounds to obtain the facial animation data. Furthermore, markers must be attached to the face of a person making a facial expression, or the face of the person must be colored. That is, a considerable amount of time is needed to prepare for the acquisition of the facial animation data.